Five retailers raise guidance, sales looking better

Following on JC Penney's strong holiday sales news, a group of retailers reported holiday sales for the November-through-December period were generally better than anticipated. More importantly, five companies raised guidance for the quarter (Most retailers have a November-through-January quarter.):

1) American Eagle: sales were down 2 percent, better than "mid-single digit" declines expected for the quarter, and they guided higher,

2) Aeropostale: sales fell 9 percent, not as bad as feared, and fourth quarter loss will be less than previously indicated,

Elsewhere, S&P futures surged 15 points shortly after 9 p.m. ET last night. The head of the Chicago Federal Reserve, Charles Evans, gave a speech saying it would be a "catastrophe" to raise rates. That is no surprise from Evans the uber-dove, but this year he is a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee, which likely explains the outsized reaction.